INSIDE THE BUBBLE | Ann Matzke
A sticky wand dipped
into a plastic bottle.
Solution slowly snakes
down your small arm
bubbles set free. You lay back
as another round of chemo flows
from the umbilical lifeline
by your bed.
In masks and gowns helpers
hover day and night.
At seven, you struggle to read Hop on Pop.
Yet, you’re fluent in the subtext
that swims in the shallow pools
of our eyes.
Your voice small and steady
Like a stream of bubbles.
Words form fluid feelings.
We talk about life in isolation.
The latest picture you painted.
The new bead bracelet on your wrist.
Pieces of the Connect Four game
lay in a jumble about your feet.
You tell me how you beat the resident,
your eyes dance.
An ember of life before flickers bright.
Winning makes you smile,
makes me smile. Too tired, you hand me the wand.
I blow a gazillion tiny bubbles.
You lift your hand, “I want inside that one,”
you point. “I’d float out the door.
Never come back.” Your small body riddled
with a disease we have yet to cure.
“More!” you say.
I purse my lips, let them fly,
One, no two, pop on your nose.
You close your eyes
and giggle for a long moment,
forgetting about life
inside
the
bubble.
Ann Matzke is a writer whose work has appeared in HEAL: Humanism Evolving through Arts and Literature, Plain Song Review, and The Back End of Tuesday as well as the professional journals Horn Book online and School Library Media. Matzke has worked as a certified child life specialist at Charing Cross Hospital in London and Children's Hospitals in the U.S. and as a children's librarian. She holds a MS degree concentrating on stressful life events for children and families. Matzke, who has published 14 nonfiction books for young readers, earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. Read more about her work at annmatzke.com